A gas turbine engine typically includes a fan section, a compressor section, a combustor section, and a turbine section. Air entering the compressor section is compressed and delivered into the combustion section where it is mixed with fuel and ignited to generate a high-speed exhaust gas flow. The high-speed exhaust gas flow expands through the turbine section to drive the compressor and the fan section.
Generally, the compressor section includes a compressor inner case composed of multiple vane stages. Typically vane stages are connected to each other by heating one of the vane stages and applying a biasing force to the vane stage to snap fit it with an adjacent vane stage. Fasteners extending between adjacent vane stages may also be used in addition to or in place of snap fitting the vane stages together. However, heating the individual vane stages and snap fitting them together requires a significant amount of time and labor for assembly and disassembly of the compressor section.